Author Topic: Back after a long haitus...WOW!  (Read 3385 times)

Offline cubanresourceful

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Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« on: March 12, 2010, 11:47:34 pm »
I played 2.0 quite a bit I must say, but then school got busy, I got a job and things were hectic so I dropped the game (sorry). But, I picked up the other day and wow, am I out of the loop. I see all these new things and I feel so lost yet again! Though I must say the graphics look even cooler! :D (It seems that the warpgate hasn't been updated)?

I think it's so much better and I've been playing some games and it's been a blast. :P

Offline keith.lamothe

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2010, 11:56:57 pm »
Glad you like what you see :)
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Offline RCIX

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2010, 11:59:13 pm »
Welcome back :)
Some other people have also dropped out, but a few have stuck around (like me)!

That there is Keith Lamothe, now co-developer of AI war (he was hired a while back, i think after you went away)
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Offline cubanresourceful

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2010, 12:04:43 am »
Welcome back :)
Some other people have also dropped out, but a few have stuck around (like me)!

That there is Keith Lamothe, now co-developer of AI war (he was hired a while back, i think after you went away)
Yeah, I remember you RCIX, but Keith I do not. I'm just so disappointed with RTS games nowadays. Anybody play R.U.S.E. and Supreme Commander 2? Both very disappointing and generic. *Sigh* Thank you AI War. I am looking forward to the DLC and maybe the next new shiny expansion if it exists somewhere deep? :D

Offline keith.lamothe

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2010, 12:08:49 am »
Another expansion is planned, but there are other projects ahead of it in the queue.  But I think the DLC was pretty nice last month (and every month, really); not quite as much yet this month as I've been busier with other stuff.  I suggest trying the new Riot Control Starships from last month :)  Currently working on the Heavy Beam Cannon turrets for this month; some experimental versions are in the current prerelease but we're still working on the balance and stuff.
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Offline cubanresourceful

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2010, 12:10:33 am »
Another expansion is planned, but there are other projects ahead of it in the queue.  But I think the DLC was pretty nice last month (and every month, really); not quite as much yet this month as I've been busier with other stuff.  I suggest trying the new Riot Control Starships from last month :)  Currently working on the Heavy Beam Cannon turrets for this month; some experimental versions are in the current prerelease but we're still working on the balance and stuff.
Woah, sounds crazy! :D Oh! Congratulations on your business hitting off so you guys could be full time! :)

Offline keith.lamothe

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2010, 12:12:20 am »
Yep :) I'm part time, just started in January, but Arcen does have fulltime staff now.
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Offline RCIX

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2010, 01:58:13 am »
Welcome back :)
Some other people have also dropped out, but a few have stuck around (like me)!

That there is Keith Lamothe, now co-developer of AI war (he was hired a while back, i think after you went away)
Yeah, I remember you RCIX, but Keith I do not. I'm just so disappointed with RTS games nowadays. Anybody play R.U.S.E. and Supreme Commander 2? Both very disappointing and generic. *Sigh* Thank you AI War. I am looking forward to the DLC and maybe the next new shiny expansion if it exists somewhere deep? :D
Oh dear. I think i'll have to stop talking to you. No SC2 hating! ;) I like the game, and to each his own i guess...
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Offline x4000

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2010, 08:38:21 am »
Welcome back, cubanresourceful! And thanks for all the kind words. A ton has changed, for sure! I definitely don't expect anyone to play ai war constNtly and forever, but it's always nice when someone picks it up again and has a ton more to explore and discover. :) welcome back!
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Offline Spikey00

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2010, 06:01:23 pm »
Uh, do you know me?

--

I express the same opinions; well, based upon the text showing all the changes as I've been busy with other matters at hand.  Though of course, like yourself, I will definitely pick up AI War again when the time is right (ie. a long-term LAN friend).

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For my honest opinion, SupCom 2 is awful in comparison to the originals; a lot of unbalanced strategies:  transports + TMLs (reload/unload again to refire then loop), transports + ACU, gunships is quite game-breaking, and that isn't considering the overwhelming under-powering of experimentals (Cybran Battleship > Megalith in performance and less in costs).  As someone explained it, it feels as though we are paying to QA test.

Beyond that is the oversimplification of the game in itself, and I just can't find much to do in the game beyond spamming monotonous groups of units (TMLs vs units is useless anyways, so anti-TML is as equal; land AA is useless just like T1 in SC/FA).  The AI is atrocious, and to elaborate, ie. transport spam, no base PDs, insufficient economy, same strats and predictability, etc.

Unfortunately, I have also noticed that the game still falls below 0 timescale in similar style of SC/FA, and while there is a large improvement FPS-wise, I can see that derives from the decrease in units on-field in overall.


That said, there are things to like in SC2, but beyond those lie 'barren crags'.  The [last] campaign missions were decent (still too easy for me), and the flowfield feature could be revolutionary.  Alike cubanresourceful, I have to say that I am also disappointed, where I couldn't play SC2 for more than a few days.
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Offline RCIX

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #10 on: March 15, 2010, 11:44:52 pm »
Uh, do you know me?

--

I express the same opinions; well, based upon the text showing all the changes as I've been busy with other matters at hand.  Though of course, like yourself, I will definitely pick up AI War again when the time is right (ie. a long-term LAN friend).

--

For my honest opinion, SupCom 2 is awful in comparison to the originals; a lot of unbalanced strategies:  transports + TMLs (reload/unload again to refire then loop), transports + ACU, gunships is quite game-breaking, and that isn't considering the overwhelming under-powering of experimentals (Cybran Battleship > Megalith in performance and less in costs).  As someone explained it, it feels as though we are paying to QA test.

Beyond that is the oversimplification of the game in itself, and I just can't find much to do in the game beyond spamming monotonous groups of units (TMLs vs units is useless anyways, so anti-TML is as equal; land AA is useless just like T1 in SC/FA).  The AI is atrocious, and to elaborate, ie. transport spam, no base PDs, insufficient economy, same strats and predictability, etc.

Unfortunately, I have also noticed that the game still falls below 0 timescale in similar style of SC/FA, and while there is a large improvement FPS-wise, I can see that derives from the decrease in units on-field in overall.


That said, there are things to like in SC2, but beyond those lie 'barren crags'.  The [last] campaign missions were decent (still too easy for me), and the flowfield feature could be revolutionary.  Alike cubanresourceful, I have to say that I am also disappointed, where I couldn't play SC2 for more than a few days.
Yes, i know you :)

For all the unbalanced strategies, give either the modding community time to find a solution to modding the game, or GPG to push a patch fixing all this. For all we know, they're preparing a mega-patch as we speak that will break most of the unbalanced strategies :) Besides, you young whippersnappers need to learn how to be patient! it wasn't long ago we had to travel uphill both ways in the driving bits to get our patches ;)

They did cut out a LOT of units and at times it feels monotonous, but i'm just waiting for that mega-patch or mods to fix it.

I do agree with their decision to make an individual unit worth more, it feels like a good choice but is stifled by the fact that you can spam too much. I remember a quote from someones sig on teh GPG forums that says "everyone's complaining about sc2, so go play fa with the 5 other people that are playing it" (meaning that it's all we got and if you don't like it, then quit whining and stop playing). You can see a rather long discussion that i had with some SC2 wikia users on general problems with SC2 at http://supcom2.wikia.com/index.php?title=Forum:Illuminate_Unit_Names:_Awful%3F&t=20100316020049 (don't let the topic name fool you)
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Offline Rod Serling

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #11 on: March 16, 2010, 01:39:21 am »
it wasn't long ago we had to travel uphill both ways in the driving bits to get our patches ;)

It wasn't long ago that major developers released games that were actually finished and didn't need a mega-patch.

Hopefully that didn't come across as too mean, but I've come to grow tired of beta testing for EA, especially when patches are so few and far between.

I've played the X3 series, and that's pretty much beta testing, but it seems the Indie developers are much much better about following up in a timely manner, and that's cool with me.

Again, this post may come off as slightly hostile, and honestly, it slightly is, but only against large development companies that don't give $0.02 about support after they've made their "Impact Sales." I mean no offense to anyone on this forum, and I wont hijack this thread further ;]

Offline keith.lamothe

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #12 on: March 16, 2010, 09:01:25 am »
It wasn't long ago that major developers released games that were actually finished and didn't need a mega-patch.
Well, some of them released finished games, the others released at a quality-control level similar to what we see today but with less chance or frequency of patches ;)
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Offline Echo35

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #13 on: March 16, 2010, 12:24:43 pm »
I missed a version or two myself and had to relearn a bunch of stuff. This game has always impressed me with its improvements and constant updates, even over half a year after its release. Only other game I know of to keep such constant and impressive updates is TF2 :)

Offline Spikey00

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Re: Back after a long haitus...WOW!
« Reply #14 on: March 16, 2010, 06:04:44 pm »
Oh, I love you RCIX.

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I am always disappointed to some degree with the phenomenon where developers would release a 'full' game as a sort of open beta test where people would literally pay in advance to join in on the adventure.  View it as either constructive and immediate criticism towards the next patch, I still it find rather disrespectful to the players who purchase their games with a mutual understanding that they will in turn receive a complete experience.

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The consequence for making units weigh more is:  a) one unit destroyed means immediate neutralization of firepower/weight (therefore reduces strategy) as to compare with five units of the same stats, as you will still have four remaining if one is destroyed.
ie.  Single Percival vs five Gatling Bots (since I can't compare any unit with SC2 as there are no tiers).

The more severe issue is that b) more units means far more mobility and tactical/strategical options than if you only had a few at a given moment.  I can harass extractors far easier in FA than in SC2 because I can have a few low tier bot groups split up and attack those extractors, instead of needing most of them for main purposes of defense and attack.  I am sure you can figure what I mean by this, but in case:  you have far more precision in what you can do with your units if you have more of them. 

Simply put in less-realistic terms, one Fatboy to take out several of your opponent's extractors or ten Rockheads?  What if the opponent harasses you in turn, then your single Fatboy may not be in the situation to help, whereas you can retreat a few of your Rockheads for defense while still being able to harass the opponent.

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Dumping even more into this thread:  I theorize that the AI runs out of resources, which is why it seems to stall at times after having its buildings destroyed.  After a lengthy time will it be able to rebuild (where it has a factory still producing units), but generally I am discovering the AI in itself is flawed greatly with what it does.

The usual defenses I observe it has are usually two AA towers at base, a single PD very late game, and occasional late game factory upgrades.  It also does a meager expansion consisting of two AA towers and a single radar structure outside of its base, apart from the mass extractors.  The main issue is the lack of PDs at the main base, and the use of factory shields/etc. in protecting its structures and ACU.  There is never a time where random ACU deaths cease to exist when there are AI about, and often this is due to either air attacks that are never properly responded to via AA/ASFs, a large land force where the ACU decides to respond alone, or nukes.  It is quite rare for me to see an ACU being destroyed after the main base is, unless of course it's vs humans/etc., though in general SC2 ACUs are more vulnerable I feel, than in previous games.

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That bloody cheating AI is just pathetic--not only (assuming) does it have a resource boost, but it has a hilarious build speed in all aspects, including repair (and no fog)?  It's not even funny, as the AI is still the same BO/style and strategy, nothing is different apart from the aforementioned.

Why, Sorian, why... 
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